grizzly bear

noun

: a very large brown bear (Ursus arctos) of northwestern North America

Note: The grizzly bear is the same species as the brown bear, but grizzly bear is typically used for the North American brown bear and not the European or Asian brown bear. In the U.S., grizzly bear is most often used for a brown bear of inland habitats (as in Montana and western Canada) that is typically smaller than coastal brown bears and usually has lighter-colored tips on the fur. The grizzly bear is often considered a subspecies (Ursus arctos horribilis) of the brown bear and, especially formerly, a separate species (Ursus horribilis).

The brown bears of Kodiak Island, the grizzly bears of the Rocky Mountains and interior Alaska, the European brown bear, all are now considered to be the same species, Ursus arctos, despite tremendous variation in color, size, and habits.

—Natural History

called also grizzly

Examples of grizzly bear in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Wolves are part of our history just as much as the grizzly bear on our state flag. —Giulia Carbonaro, Newsweek, 27 Dec. 2024

The driver who struck and killed a famous grizzly bear south of Grand Teton National Park earlier this week was not speeding and the bear's death was an accident, law enforcement officers said Friday. —CBS News, 28 Oct. 2024

Fine, but Ace Demers doesn’t get grizzly bears that easily. —Tom Stacer, Outdoor Life, 20 Feb. 2025

Vox contributor Cat Willet explored the potential of rewilding — a movement that encompasses efforts on wide swaths of landscape and can include things like returning apex predators like grizzly bears back to an ecosystem. —Umair Irfan, Vox, 28 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1791, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for grizzly bear

• aftercare
• anywhere
• billionaire
• chinaware
• debonair
• dinnerware
• disrepair
• doctrinaire
• earthenware
• everywhere
• frigidaire
• kitchenware

Kids Definition

grizzly bear

noun

: a large powerful brown bear found from the lower 48 to Alaska